Institute of Development Studies

Global Consortium on Security Transformation

The Consortium began in 2007 with funding from IDRC and DfID, and was launched at a Colloquium in Sri Lanka in September 2007. The Consortium has built upon and forged relationships between regional networks linking researchers and practitioners, which have emerged across the developing world. It is a joint ventre led by eight institutions and/or networks, seven based in the global South. It differs from existing networks in its focus on South-South as well as South-North links. This focus on the South is continuing into the Consortium’s next phase with FLACSO-Chile taking over as the lead institution (funded by the IDRC and the Ford Foundation).

The Consortium also aims to share research findings and policy lessons amongst regional networks, to promote cross-regional research, to foster evidence-based policy dialogue and to reach out to a broad range of policy constituencies not normally considered in security analysis and policy-making.

Aims and Objectives

The Consortium aims to:

• Explore how the voices and interests of the poor, marginalised, displaced and oppressed can obtain greater priority in security research and policy-making.
• Build bridges between policy and research, both (a) to ground policy in empirical understanding of realities in conflict-affected countries and regions, and (b) to diffuse research to new policy constituencies, especially in the South.
• Link Southern researchers, policy-makers and civil society organisations, thus empowering them to challenge Northern-dominated security discourses and practices.

• IDS key contact: Robin Luckham
• Project dates: January 2007 - March 2009
• Project status: Closed
• Funder: Department for International Development (DFID); International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Researchers

• Robin Luckham

Partner Organisations

• Global Consortium on Security Transformation (GCST)
• International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES)
• The Southern African Defence and Security Management Network (SADSEM)
• The Institute for Strategic and Development Studies (ISDS)
• Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (Chile) (FLACSO)
• Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
• African Security Sector Network (ASSN)
• Instituto de Ensenanza para el Desarrollo Sostenible (IEPADES)

Selected Outputs

• Bagayoko, N. and McLean Hilker, L. (2009) 'Essays on Transforming Security and Development in an Unequal World', IDS Working Paper 322, Brighton: IDS
• Luckham, R. with Bagayoko, N., Dammert, L., Fuentes, C. and Solis, M. (2009) 'Transforming Security and Development in an Unequal World', IDS Bulletin 40.2, Brighton: IDS